Ollie Rayner entered Middlesex folklore when he took the extraordinary figures of 15-118 in the match in the Championship victory over Surrey at The Oval in September 2013. It was a worthy reward for a cricketer who, on account of his solid offspin and very useful lower order batting, had been easy to label a journeyman. Born in Germany, Rayner is an extremely tall offspiner. He makes the best of his build with a high arm action but lacks genuine spin on the ball. After graduating from the Sussex and ECB academies Ollie Rayner signed a contract with Sussex in November 2005. Although primarily an offspinner, he became the first Sussex player since 1920 to score a century on debut when he scored 101 against the touring Sri Lankans in 2006. His main chance, though, came following the retirement of Mushtaq Ahmed in 2008 as he became the club's frontline spinner. By the end of the season he had done enough to earn a call-up to the England Performance Squad. That was, though, a high-point. His form tailed off in 2009 and his 2010 season was curtailed by the arrival of Monty Panesar at Hove. Rayner joined Middlesex on loan in 2011, prospering enough to be rewarded with a three-year deal. He performed admirably, but his exploits at The Oval did not prove a springboard to greater things. It earned him an England Lions call-up to Sri Lanka, but his bowling form subsided in 2014, when his five Championship wickets cost 119.20 apiece.